DeSantis talks up wife as potential successor, clashing with Trump

MIAMI – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that his wife, Casey DeSantis, would be a formidable candidate if she chose to run for governor next year, a provocative suggestion that came days after President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds as his preferred Republican candidate for the 2026 governor’s race.

The governor did not outright propose that his wife, a former local TV anchor and breast cancer survivor who has never sought public office, enter the race. But his remarks made clear that the ambitious couple, as has long been rumored, considered her a real possibility to succeed him.

“She’s never angled for anything,” Ron DeSantis told reporters in Tampa. “But I will tell you this: You’re talking about somebody like her. I won by the biggest margin that any Republican’s won a governor’s race here in Florida. She would do better than me.”

Last week, Trump announced that he would back Donalds, a longtime ally, for governor. Donalds, a Republican from Naples, has not yet said whether he is running – no major candidate has – but has been widely expected to do so.

“Run, Byron, run!” Trump wrote on social media last Thursday, adding that Donalds would be “a truly great and powerful governor for Florida.” Donalds told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland on Friday to “stay tuned” regarding his plans.

By offering endorsements or near-endorsements of two Republicans who are not yet in the governor’s race, Trump and Ron DeSantis have set up a new proxy fight after the two were rivals in the presidential primary. Trump crushed DeSantis in that contest, but DeSantis, who is 46, could make another White House run in 2028. Fundraising and media attention for such a campaign could be easier if the term-limited governor, or his wife, were holding some sort of public office.

To guarantee a bully pulpit, DeSantis could have appointed himself to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state. But DeSantis chose not to, naming Ashley Moody, the Florida attorney general, instead. Moody, a DeSantis ally, had previously been seen as a possible contender to succeed him.

DeSantis said last month that he would raise and spend money from his powerful political committee – which he used last year to help defeat ballot measures protecting abortion rights and legalizing marijuana – to back a candidate in the governor’s race. Then, Casey DeSantis’ name began circulating among Republican donors at a gathering in Palm Beach, Florida, NBC News reported.

A public opinion survey published last week by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida found that respondents had a more favorable view of Casey DeSantis, who is 44, than of any other potential Republican contender.

Ron DeSantis was once quite close with Donalds: The Florida representative helped DeSantis with debate preparation when he first ran for governor in 2018. But their relationship cooled after Donalds backed Trump in the presidential primary.

Donalds, who is Black, later criticized the DeSantis administration for proposing African American history standards stating that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

Donalds was among Trump’s choices for running mate last year, and he frequently campaigned on Trump’s behalf.

On Monday, Ron DeSantis, a former member of Congress who is often dismissive of what members of Congress do, cast Donalds as ineffective.

“You’ve got a guy like Byron – he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here” defeating the left in the past few years, DeSantis said, adding that Donalds had “been in other states” campaigning.

“And that’s fine,” he added, “but, OK, well, then deliver results” in Washington.

Casey DeSantis, on the other hand, “has the intestinal fortitude, the conservative principles,” the governor said.

Casey DeSantis was a top surrogate for her husband during his political campaigns. As first lady, she has played a high-profile role in hurricane recovery efforts.

“Everything we’ve accomplished, she’d be able to take it to the next level,” Ron DeSantis said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.